Written Answers Tuesday 2 August 2005

Scottish Executive

British Council

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many joint initiatives or events it has held with the British Council in each year since 2002 and whether it will provide (a) a list and (b) the total cost of each of these events and initiatives.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive operates closely in a number of areas with both British Council Scotland and British Council offices overseas. The following table shows that since 2002 numerous initiatives have been undertaken in cooperation with the British Council. These activities vary from large scale events held in partnership with the British Council to small scale projects on which the Executive and British Council liaise and exchange expertise.

  

 Date
 Joint Initiative/ Event
 Description
 Duration
SEExpenditure


2002 14 Feb.
 British Council/ Mexican Ministry of Education Visit to HMIE
 Visit to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) by Mexican Ministry of Education during wider visit to UK. Focus on self-evaluation and school inspection.
 1.5 hours
 N/A


 25-26 Mar.
 British Council/ Kuwait Visit to HMIE
 Visit to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) during 2 day visit. Focus on school inspection process, inspector training, self-evaluation in schools, and the "How Good is Our School" programme.
 1 day
 N/A


4-6 April
"Distilled" – Live Scotland in New York
 As part of Tartan Week 2002, a programme of events was organised to showcase contemporary Scottish culture. This included special evening receptions, arts performances, and day-time seminars.
 3 days
 N/A


 May
 British Council/ Finland/ UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees Visit to HMIE
 Visit to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE). Focus on quality assurance working group.
 2.5 days
£1,900


 Autumn
"Scotland in Sweden"
 The British Council put together a programme of events to promote Scotland in Sweden, focusing on tourism, youth, and biotechnology. Key features were ministerial visits, conferences, sporting events, and cultural receptions.
 9 months
 Scottish Executive contributed £20,000 toward the BC programme.


 
"Vocational Partnerships" Initiative
 Funding was provided for the British Council’s "Vocational Partnership’s" Initiative to ensure that Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs) were fully highlighted in the British Council’s promotional material, including their web portal and promotions abroad.
 Scottish Executive provided funds in years 2002/3 and 2003/4.
2002/3: £30,000 2003/4: £30,000


2003 Jan.
"Distilled" – Live Scotland in Stockholm.
 As part of the British Council’s broader "Scotland in Sweden" campaign, the Scottish Executive organised a 5 day programme of cultural events and arts presentations.
 5 days
£60,000


 Feb.
 Governance Workshop in Paris
 In conjunction with the British Council and the Marie Curie Foundation, the Scottish Executive helped to organise a one day governance workshop. This event included the involvement of Lord Watson and Lord Steel.
 1 day
£2000


 1-6 April
 British Council/ Russia Visit by HMSCI
 Visit by Her Majesty’s Senior Chief Inspector (HMSCI) to attend Russian-British annual education steering committee meeting.
 5 days
 N/A


 19-21 May
 British Council/ Russia Visit to HMIE Scotland
 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) contributed to part of this Russian teacher training visit.
 3 days
 N/A


 2-6 June
 British Council/ Czech Rep. Visit to HMIE, Edinburgh
 Visit to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE). Focus on school leadership.
 3 hours
£250


 16-20 June
 British Council/ HMIE Seminar in Edinburgh
 Joint seminar by the British Council and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE). Focus on quality assurance in schools.
 5 days
£3,500


 30 Sept. – 2 Oct.
 British Council/ Czech Rep. Visit to HMIE in Edinburgh
 Visit to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE). Focus on the school inspection model.
 3 days
 N/A


 Oct.
 Scotland in Catalonia
 The British Council assisted the Scottish Executive in the organisation of their Scotland in Catalonia education programme. The event was attended by the Deputy First Minister.
 days
£2000


 1-7 Oct
 British Council/ Russia Educational Conference in St Petersburg
 The British Council/ Russian educational conference was attended by Her Majesty’s Senior Chief Inspector
 5 days
 N/A


 15 Oct.
 British Council/ Ministry of Education Dubai Visit to HMIE
 Visit to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) by representatives of the Ministry of Education of Dubai. Focus on the school inspection model.
 2 hours
 N/A


2004 Feb.
 Ministerial Visit to China
 Visit to China by the Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning. British Council officials in Beijing assisted in co-ordinating programmes for the Minister to reach all target groups.
 days
 N/A


 9 Feb
 British Council/ Ministry of Education Mexico Visit to HMIE, Edinburgh
 Visit to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE). Focus on the quality improvement framework for education in Scotland.
 2 hours
£150


 23-26 Feb
 British Council/ Czech Rep Visit to HMIE, Edinburgh
 Visit to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education. Focus on HMIE’s role in Scottish education.
 4 days
£1200


 3 Mar.
 British Council/ Argentina Visit to HMIE
 Visit to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) as part of a wider visit to the UK. Focus on inspection systems.
 1.5 hours
 N/A


 22-26 Mar.
 British Council/ Argentina, Conference.
 Representatives from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) attended Quality and Standards Conference in Argentina.
 5 days
 Paid by British Council


 April
 Celebration of the centenary of the Entente Cordiale
 The establishment of a formal partnership between the Scottish Executive and British Council Scotland and British Council France to promote Scottish Culture in France.
 Month
 N/A


 16-18 June
"Crossroads for Ideas", Balathie House, Perthshire
 As part of a wider Foreign & Commonwealth Office/ British Council campaign, the Scottish Executive participated in the organisation of a Bioscience Workshop.
 3 Days
£5600.17


 June
 Global Friends of Scotland - British Council India newsletters. 
 Global Friends of Scotland features were provided to the editor of the British Council India for inclusion in their electronic and hard-copy newsletter (readership 20,000).
 Month
 N/A


 July
 Global Friends of Scotland - British Consulate Hong Kong newsletter.
 Global Friends of Scotland research and web links on Scotland were provided to the editor of the British Consulate Hong Kong newsletter (produced by the British Consulate-General, the British Council Hong Kong, and Visit Britain).
 Month
 N/A


 Oct.
 Ministerial Visit to China
 Visit to China by First Minister. British Council officials in Beijing assisted in co-ordinating programmes to reach key target groups, including the organisation of a school visit.
 Days
 N/A


 Aug.
"Scotland in the Netherlands", Amsterdam
 The British Council made a contribution to the Scottish Executive’s programme of events for "Scotland in the Netherlands"
 Days
 N/A


 13-14 Sept.
 International Conference on the Children’s Hearing System: What can you teach us?
 With the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration and the British Council the Scottish Executive sought views from world experts to help benchmark the Children’s Hearings system in Scotland and to explore what we could learn from them. In preparation we separately commissioned a study on international evidence about decision making and services for children.
 2 days
£20,412.89 (travel, hotel, and food and seminar costs, including facilitator)


8-10 Dec.
"Going Global" Conference
 Funding from the Fresh Talent budget was used to support the British Council International Education Conference in Edinburgh.
 3 days
£10,000


2005 Jan.
 Ministerial Visit to China
 Visit to China by Deputy First Minister. British Council officials in Beijing assisted in co-ordinating programmes to reach key target groups.
 Days
 N/A


7-9 Feb.
"Making the Difference: Improving Parents’ Involvement in their Children’s Education," Edinburgh
 International seminar attracting delegates from Europe, Africa, Russia, and South America. This event provided delegates with the opportunity to discuss and compare experiences of parental involvement. Delegates were able to share ideas and learn about the Scottish system and approach.
 3 days
£564 (Ministerially hosted dinner for delegates – 7 July)


 14-18 Mar.
 British Council/ Argentina, Conference
 Representatives from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) attended a follow-up conference in Argentina to discuss self-evaluation.
 5 days
 Paid by British Council


2-10 April
 Tartan Week, Vanderbilt Hall, New York
 As part of Tartan Week 2005, the British Council and the SE organised and staffed a zone within the Scottish Village to promote educational aspects of the Fresh Talent initiative.
 10 days
 N/A


 18-20 May
 UK European Year of Citizenship
 Seminar held in Manchester
 3 days
£25,000


 19 May
 British Council/ Brazil Visit to HMIE, Edinburgh
 Visit to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education (HMIE). Focus on quality assurance.
 3 hours
 N/A


 May
 First Minister Visit to Malawi
 British Council Malawi provided broad cooperation with the Scottish Executive in the organisation of the First Minister’s visit, in the planning of the programme, and with the distribution of information to target audiences.
 5 days
 N/A


 9 June
 Visit of Mexican Minister for Public Education
 Dr. Reyes Tamez (and delegation of four) visited Scotland as part of a Scottish Executive/ Foreign & Commonwealth Office organised visit. The British Council helped to organise a dinner for the ministerial delegation and 3 chevening scholars.
 1 evening
 N/A


 10 June
 British Council/ Mexico Visit to HMIE
 Visit to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) as part of a wider Scottish Executive event to discuss the "How Good Is Our School" initiative.
 2 hours
£150


 23 June
"AfricaWoman" Conference, Edinburgh
 The conference heard presentations focussing on the voices, needs, and experiences of women in Africa. The British Council aided the Scottish Executive with the organisation of this event.
 1 day
£20,000 contributed by the Equality Unit to the Edinburgh City Council


 Aug.
 British Council/ Brazil, Conference
 Representatives from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education (HMIE) attended this event in Brazil to address a conference on the "How Good Is Our School" initiative.
 
£1105.85


 11-12 Nov.
 British Council/ Brazil Visit to HMIE, Education
 Visit to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education (HMIE). Focus on enhancing access to quality school education.
 2 days
 N/A


2005 8 Feb.
 British Council Visit to HMIE, Livingston
 Visit to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE). Focus on the work of HMIE.
 2 hours
 N/A


 May and Sept.
 Scottish Schools Africa Challenge
 Primary schools competition to raise awareness of education issues in Africa. Winners accompanied First Minister to Malawi. School children from Malawi will make a return trip to Scotland in September.
 Days
£33,000 outward mission (inclusive of costs of FM visit). £27,000 inward mission.


 On-going
 Education UK Scotland
 An education sector led initiative which aims to encourage collaboration between the education sectors, and to undertake generic promotional work in overseas markets to encourage more overseas students to study in Scotland.
 2003/06
2003/4: £50,000 2004/5: £80,000 2005/6: £70,000


 On-going
 Scottish Executive Education Department
 The Education Department provides funding to British Council Scotland for a number of projects: English Language Assistants and Foreign Language Assistants; Fulbright Teacher Exchanges; East-West programme; International Study Visits; and Youth Exchanges.
 2004-5 was the ninth year of this Education Department funding.
£310,000 per year


 On-going
 Prime Minister’s Initiative
 International student recruitment initiative. Branded global marketing campaign to encourage more overseas students to make the UK their first choice for study abroad.
 Scottish Executive provided funds in each year of the initiative. 1999/00-2004/5.
2002/3: £152,000 2003/4: £130,000 2004/5: £100,000 2005/6: tbc


 On-going
 Scottish International Scholarship Programme
 British Council Scotland has been contracted by Scottish Executive (Fresh Talent team) to manage the Scotland International Scholarship Programme, which offers 22 postgraduate scholarship places to international students from China, India, Singapore, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand.
 3 Years – 2005/6 to 2007/8
£540,000 per year.


 On-going
 Scottish Networks International
 The Fresh Talent initiative is providing funding to Scottish Networks International (SNI) to fund 20 work placements for international postgraduates. Funding also funds an additional manager within SNI to lead on activities to support Fresh Talent objectives, including networking opportunities and an annual conference.
 3 Years – 2005/6 to 2007/8
£75,000 per year.


 On-going
 Scotland-China Links
 New funding to enable Scottish teachers and pupils to participate in Chinese immersion courses in China.
 2005/6 for three years
 Total funding £335,000


 On-going
 Liaison Between Global Friends of Scotland and Scottish Networks International (part of British Council Scotland)
 The Global Friends of Scotland team meet regularly with Scottish Networks International (SNI) to discuss areas of common interest. SNI have suggested alumni contacts for involvement in the project and have reproduced features from the Global Friends’ website in SNI publications.
 Ongoing 
 N/A


Forthcoming 9-12 Oct.
 Scottish Mental Health Legislation and Human Rights, Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh
Conference proposed to address Scottish mental health legislation and human rights. This event is to be organised by British Council Scotland with cooperation from the Scottish Executive. Ministerial involvement has been discussed, and the Mental Health(Branch 2) is assisting by trawling for speakers.
 4 days
 N/A

Food Safety

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcome was of any discussions with the Food Standards Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the GM contamination of imported maize from the United States of America.

Ross Finnie: The Food Standards Agency has advised Defra and the Scottish Executive of all actions to implement the emergency measures outlined by the European Commission in Decision 2005/317/EC issued in April which are designed to prevent the placing on the market of contaminated maize products.

Fuel Poverty

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive when its Fuel Poverty Forum will next meet.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive Fuel Poverty Forum met on 7 July 2005 and the provisional date for the next meeting is 23 August 2005.

General Practitioners

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average number of patients on a GP list is in each NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: The average number of patients on a GP list in each NHS board area as at 1 April 2005 is contained in the following table.

  

 NHS Board
 Average (mean) Number of Patients


 Argyll and Clyde
 4,472


 Ayrshire and Arran
 6,338


 Borders
 4,666


 Dumfries and Galloway
 4,376


 Fife
 6,262


 Forth Valley
 5,262


 Grampian
 6,553


 Greater Glasgow
 4,491


 Highland
 3,182


 Lanarkshire
 5,837


 Lothian
 6,532


 Orkney
 1,415


 Shetland
 2,215


 Tayside
 5,671


 Western Isles
 2,120



  Prior to the introduction of the new GMS contract a GP list comprised names of patients for each GP. Since the new contract was introduced GP patient lists are held and expressed as a practice list and not the individual GPs list.

General Practitioners

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the demographic breakdown is of all GPs currently practicing.

Mr Andy Kerr: The following table shows the breakdown of GPs practicing for the whole of Scotland as at 1 October 2004. The breakdown is by headcount, not full time equivalent and the data supplied also gives details of age and gender.

  

 Age Band
 
 20-24
 25-29
 30-34
 35-39
 40-44
 45-49
 50-54
 55-59
 60+


 
 Headcount
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 All
 4,486
 1
 234
 551
 749
 880
 813
 654
 452
 152


 Male
 2,447
 1
 64
 203
 310
 455
 495
 446
 348
 125


 Female
 2,039
 
 170
 348
 439
 425
 318
 208
 104
 27

Mental Health

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospital admissions on mental health grounds in the last three years have resulted from the use of (a) pharmaceutical drugs, (b) heroin, (c) cocaine, (d) cannabis, (e) alcohol, (f) nicotine and (g) magic mushrooms.

Hugh Henry: Admissions to mental illness hospitals and psychiatric units for the last three years where information is available and where substances are listed on hospital record summaries is shown in Table 1. In cases of multiple drug use, specific drugs are not always reported.

  Table 1. Scottish Mental Illness Hospital and Psychiatric Unit1,2 Discharge Records with an Explicit Diagnosis of Mental and Behavioural Disorders. Source SMR04

  

 Diagnosis3
 Discharge Period


 Mental and Behavioural Disorders Due to the Use of :
 1998-99
 1999-2000
 2000-01


 Alcohol
 5,121
 5,269
 4,789


 Multiple drug use and use of other psychoactive substances
 991
 1,058
 848


 Opioids
 460
 522
 520


 Sedatives or Hypnotics
 147
 147
 142


 Cannabinoids
 120
 112
 129


 Hallucinogens
 16
 23
 13


 Cocaine
 4
 12
 9


 Tobacco
 1
 1
 0



  Notes:

  1. Excludes acute hospitals and maternity hospitals.

  2. Information on hospital discharges relates to episodes of care rather than individual patients. The same patient may account for several hospital admissions during the course of a year (or across years) and will be counted each time in the attached table.

  3. Diagnostic information is defined by using the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases 10 revision (ICD10). The following ICD10 codes have been used; Mental & Behavioural Disorders Due to The Use of Alcohol F10, Multiple Drug Use & Use of Other Psychoactive Substances F19, Opioids F11, Sedatives or Hypnotics F13, Cannabinoids F12, Hallucinogens F16, Cocaine F14, Tobacco F17.

NHS 24

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the 10 most common reasons for calls to NHS 24 were in the last 12 months for which information is available.

Mr Andy Kerr: Between 1 July 2004 and 30 June 2005 the 10 most common reasons for calls to NHS 24, based on the use of algorithms, were:

  

 
 Reason


1
 Abdominal Pain Adult


2
 Vomiting


3
 Chest Pain


4
 Breathing Difficulty Adult


5
 Sore Throat


6
 Abdominal Pain


7
 Fever Toddler (Age 1-4 years)


8
 Headache Adult


9
 Rash Toddler (Age 1-4 years)


10
 Cough Adult

National Health Service

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurse practitioners there have been in each NHS board in each of the last 10 years.

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurse practitioners currently practise in the NHS and in which areas.

Mr Andy Kerr: Centrally held information does not explicitly identify nurse practitioners posts working in NHS Scotland. Data on nurse practitioners will be collected for the first time as part of the data collection exercise for clinical nurse specialists for 2005-06 later this year.

  Information on the clinical nurse specialists in post in NHS Scotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at: www.isdscotland.org/workforce.

National Health Service

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much a GP costs to employ compared to a nurse practitioner.

Mr Andy Kerr: The UK salary range for a GP for 2005-06 is £49,248 to £74,815.

  There are a number of different jobs that can be termed nurse practitioner posts and these attract different basic salaries in recognition of grade. There are additional allowances for duties such as being on call or unsocial hours. There is a graded salary structure that ranges from £14,000 for grade A to £33,000 for grade I.

National Health Service

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) nurses, (b) doctors and (c) GPs left the NHS to work abroad in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not currently available centrally.

National Health Service

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many specialist nursing posts for colitis and Crohn’s disease there are, broken down by NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: Centrally held information does not explicitly identify specialist nursing posts for colitis and Crohn’s disease. However a number of nurse specialists, including gastro intestinal and stoma nurses, may be included in the care of patients presenting with colitis and Crohn’s disease

  Information on the clinical nurse specialists in post in NHS Scotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at: www.isdscotland.org/workforce.

National Health Service

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the numbers of specialist nursing posts for colitis and Crohn’s disease.

Mr Andy Kerr: The planning of the workforce, including specialist colitis and Crohn’s Disease nurses, is primarily a matter for individual NHS boards.

Poverty

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many families were living in relative poverty in each month of each year since January 2001.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not available.

  The official source of low income data for Scotland is the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) dataset which is derived from the Family Resources Survey (FRS).

  The FRS is an annual survey run by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Only annual statistics relating to families living in relative poverty are therefore available.

  The following link provides the latest low income headline figures for Scotland (2003/04), together with data for previous years, which was published on 30 March 2005: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/03/29170611/06123.

Poverty

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the minimum annual household income is for households considered to be above the poverty line.

Malcolm Chisholm: There is no official poverty line as poverty is a multi-dimensional concept which relates to more than just income alone.

  The households below average income series reports numbers of households below various relative and absolute low income thresholds, both before housing costs (BHC) and after housing costs (AHC). The main thresholds reported are 60% of the median of the relevant household income (BHC or AHC) for Great Britain. The relative threshold is 60% of median GB income in the current year; the absolute threshold is 60% of median Great Britain income in 1996-97, uprated to remove the effects of inflation. The thresholds are based on equivalised income (see below), and therefore the monetary value of the thresholds varies according to the composition of the household. The following table presents the monetary values of these main thresholds for a selection of household types.

  Table: Monetary values of the 60% median low income thresholds- after housing costs (AHC) and before housing costs (BHC)

  £ per annum unequivalised 2003-04 prices

  

 
 Relative
 Absolute


 
 60% Median AHC
 60% Median BHC
 60% Median AHC
 60% Median BHC


 Couple no children
 9,300
 10,500
 7,500
 8,900


 Couple 2 children aged 5 and 11
 13,600
 15,300
 11,000
 13,000


 Single person
 5,100
 6,400
 4,100
 5,400


 Single with 2 children aged 5 and 11
 9,500
 11,200
 7,600
 9,500



  Source: Family Resources Survey 2003-04.

  Note: 1. The relative threshold compares against median income in the same year. The absolute threshold compares against median income in the baseline year, 1996-97, up rated to remove the effects of inflation.

  In order to allow comparisons of living standards between different household types, income is adjusted to take into account variations in the size and composition of the household in a process known as equivalisation. Further information can be found about equivalisation in the Department for Work and Pensions Households Below Average Income, An analysis of the income distribution 1994-95-2003-04 publication http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/hbai/hbai2004/contents.asp.

  Values for other household types can be calculated using the equivalence scales variants which are set out in Appendix 2 of DWP’s publication: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/hbai/hbai2004/pdf_files/appendices/appendix_2_hbai05.pdf.

Prescriptions

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which drugs have been removed from the NHS prescription blacklist in each year since 1997.

Mr Andy Kerr: The drugs which have been removed from the blacklist are listed in Statutory Instruments 1997 No.1473, 2001 No. 119, 2002 No.438 and 2003 No.11.

Road Accidents

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have (a) been admitted to (i) accident and emergency and (ii) minor injuries departments and (b) presented themselves to other hospital departments as a result of road traffic and vehicular accidents since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS treatment for unintentional injuries may be provided in a number of health settings including general practice, minor injury departments, A&E departments and as an in-patient in a hospital. Data available nationally at a level of detail that would allow the cause of the injury (e.g. road traffic accident) to be identified are only available for those patients admitted as an in-patient to a hospital. In general, it is likely that patients admitted to hospital will have a more serious injury than those treated in general practice, minor injury departments or within A&E departments.

  Information on the number of those admitted as an in-patient to hospital in the period 1998-99 to 2003-04 by NHS Board of Residence is shown in the following table.

  Table 1 - Number of Emergency In-patient Hospital Admissions as a Result of an RTA by NHS Board of Residence, Year ending 31st March 1, 2

  

 NHS Board of Residence
 Year


 
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004


 Scotland
 5,289
 4,940
 4,904
 4,880
 4,697
 4,408


 Argyll and Clyde
 373
 402
 343
 357
 340
 345


 Ayrshire and Arran
 486
 426
 348
 400
 441
 395


 Borders
 88
 123
 103
 100
 105
 90


 Dumfries and Galloway
 158
 142
 177
 125
 138
 121


 Fife
 283
 280
 311
 320
 306
 259


 Forth Valley
 223
 225
 247
 246
 253
 227


 Grampian
 758
 684
 712
 695
 671
 743


 Greater Glasgow
 851
 776
 694
 693
 704
 668


 Highland
 388
 354
 376
 389
 333
 327


 Lanarkshire
 553
 474
 491
 474
 401
 414


 Lothian
 646
 597
 648
 640
 574
 476


 Orkney Islands
 36
 39
 35
 33
 20
 25


 Shetland Islands
 32
 24
 23
 36
 29
 15


 Tayside
 393
 367
 369
 340
 338
 268


 Western Isles
 21
 27
 27
 32
 44
 35



  Notes:

  1. These statistics are derived from data collected on discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals (SMR01) in Scotland.

  2. Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) are identified using SMR01 admission type code 32 – Patient Injury, Road Traffic Accident (RTA).

Telecommunications

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-17100 by Malcolm Chisholm on 14 June 2005, what precautionary measures were put in place in response to the report of the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones published in 2000.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Independent Expert Group suggested a "precautionary approach" should be adopted for mobile telecommunications technology and made 34 specific recommendations. The Government response to the recommendation of the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones and Health was issued at the same time as the publication of the report in May 2000, and is still available on the Department of Health website: http://www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidanceArticle/fs/en? CONTENT_ID=4009677&chk=OoEUlX .

  Precautionary advice was also subsequently issued in leaflets that provided information for the public about mobile phone technologies. Two leaflets, Mobile Phone Base Stations and Health and Mobile Phones were published jointly by the Department of Health, the Scottish Executive, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Executive, and are still available.

  Many of the recommendations of the expert group could be considered as precautionary advice, and were directed at Government, industry and the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB - now the Radiation Protection Division of the Health Protection Agency). A number of measures were put in place to meet these recommendations. These measures were described, and progress on implementing them was reviewed by the NRPB in the publication Mobile Phones and Health 2004 (Volume 15 No 5 2004). This publication is also available from the web at:

  http://www.hpa.org.uk/radiation/publications/documents_of_nrpb/abstracts/absd15-5.htm.

  National Planning Policy Guideline 19: Radio Telecommunications mentions specific measures, including:

  Emissions from mobile phone base stations to meet the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines for public exposure as expressed in the limits set in the EU Council recommendation of 12 July 1999 on the limitation of exposure of the general public to electromagnetic fields.

  Creation of a national database giving details of all base stations and their emissions. The database was established and maintained by the Radiocommunications Agency and is now managed by Ofcom and is accessible to the public via the Ofcom website: http://www.sitefinder.radio.gov.uk/

  An independent audit of emissions around base stations (masts) to give the public confidence that base stations do not exceed the ICNIRP public exposure guidelines. The surveys were initially undertaken by the Radiocommunications Agency and again have been transferred to Ofcom. All measurements so far show emissions to be at most hundreds of times below the ICNIRP guidelines and usually thousands of times below these levels. Further information is available on the Ofcom website: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/telecoms_ifc/telephony_con_guides/mob_phone_base_stat/

  Commissioning a comprehensive programme of further research on health matters. The Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme has been running for several years now and further information is available at www.mthr.org.uk.

Telecommunications

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to S2W-17101 by Malcolm Chisholm on 14 June 2005, what action local communities can take in the event that the precautionary measures are not being adhered to.

Malcolm Chisholm: The answer to question S2W-17800 on 2 August 2005 referred to the recommendations of the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (IEGMP), the Government response and how the former have been reviewed by the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB – now the Radiation Protection Division of the Health Protection Agency).

  The IEGMP recommendations were either for Government, industry or the NRPB and were essentially practical, achievable measures that were voluntary and not statutory. As far as we are aware, from contact with the relevant interests, the agreed precautionary measures in relation to masts/base stations, following on from the Government response to IEGMP, are being adhered to.

  The main issue for many communities with regard to precautionary measures will be whether the emissions from a mobile phone mast/base station meet the recommended International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines for public exposure as expressed in the limits set in the EU Council recommendation of 12 July 1999 on the limitation of exposure of the general public to electromagnetic fields. As the answer to S2W-17800 indicated, the audit by Ofcom shows emission levels to be hundreds or thousands of times lower than the guideline levels. It would be open to individuals or communities to fund their own survey of emissions from a particular mast if Ofcom were unable to add it to their audit programme.